Physician Assistant Program

Admission Requirements 2008-2009

General
Academic Prerequisite
Other Program Requirements
Recommended Background
CASPA Application and Deadlines
Application Review for Interview
Tuition and Fees
Selection Notification for Admission
Technical Standards

Admission to the Harding University Physician Assistant Program is competitive. All applications are carefully reviewed by the Program Admissions Committee and evaluated for completion of required coursework as well as characteristics that show promise of successful completion of the program and professional achievement.

Because admission information is updated regularly, applicants should verify current requirements on the program Web site. The most current admission information will always be posted at this site.

All Applicants Must:

• Possess a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States prior to matriculation into the program. We do not specify the degree area. Coursework must included, at a minimum, the required prerequisite courses listed below.
  
• Complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test after January 1, 2004. No minimum score required. The GRE requirement is waived for those who have completed a graduate degree by December 30, 2008.
• Meet all general requirements for admission to, and agree to abide by all policies and procedures for, graduate programs at Harding University. All graduate students at Harding University are expected to maintain the highest standards of morality, integrity, orderliness and personal honor. Harding University reserves the right to refuse admittance or dismiss any student whose lifestyle is not consistent with the Christian principles that this university represents. This is from the Graduate Catalog which can be viewed online at (www.harding.edu/gradcatalog/).
• Have an academic record of performance at the undergraduate level that is predictive of academic success and professional achievement as a Physician Assistant. The minimum total undergraduate GPA should be 3.0 on a 4-point scale. Written appeals of this requirement must be made to the program director and submitted directly to the program at the time of your application: H.U. PA Program Box 12231
  Searcy, AR 72149-2231

Academic Prerequisite Course Work:

Prerequisite courses must be completed at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university with a prerequisite GPA of 3.0 on a 4 point scale. All prerequisite course grades must be a C or higher. A minimum of three (3) semester hours/units or four (4) quarter hours/units is required for each course. In addition to the total GPA, the prerequisite GPA is computed and is required to be at or above 3.0 for the application to be considered as having met the academic requirements. 

The Harding courses that fulfill each requirement are listed so that you may read the course description and match it to your university course catalog.

To view the science department course descriptions go to: www.harding.edu/catalog/

For All Academic Prerequisite Course Work:

It is expected that the majority of prerequisite work will be completed prior to the application deadline. Only 1 prerequisite course may be left for completion during the spring semester prior to the program start date the following fall. All matriculating students must receive their bachelors degree no later than the end of the summer term prior to matriculation.

• Course substitutions that do not cover the scope of information covered in the prerequisite classes will not be accepted.
• If an applicant is accepted into the program with a provisional acceptance status (some prerequisite coursework is pending and/or graduation has not occurred), the completed transcript must be provided to the program before matriculation.
• The PA Program is not able to do general evaluation of transcripts. Please check with your academic advisor first, then your college registrar, before writing to the PA Program for clarification. College catalog descriptions should answer most questions about course acceptability. If an applicant contacts the PA Program about a particular course, the applicant must submit a copy of the college catalog course description and the web address of the course catalog. They may be asked to also submit a course syllabus. All Program decisions are final.
• CLEP examination credit may not be used to meet any of the listed prerequisites, unless a comparable number of credits in advanced courses in the discipline have been completed.
• Advanced Placement (AP) credit may be used to satisfy prerequisite coursework provided that the AP credit is accepted by the applicant’s institution and is posted on the applicant’s official academic transcript.

All applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be considered for an interview regardless of their major area of study. A broad base of study in areas such as humanities, sociology and religion is encouraged. Submission of a completed application does not guarantee an interview, selection or admission into the Physician Assistant Program.

Other Program Requirements

• Proficiency in basic computer skills (word-processing, data bases, Internet searches, e-mail) is expected of all entering students, as the curriculum will incorporate the use of computer technology. Additionally, all students in the Program will be expected to have access to the Internet.
• All applicants must meet the minimum technical standards for the Physician Assistant Program see Technical Standards
• Competency in basic medical terminology is required for acceptance into the program. A course in medical terminology is recommended for applicants who are not health professionals or for any applicant not confident of their ability in this area. Self-study courses are appropriate. No transcript record/grade for medical terminology is required. All applicants must pass, with a score of 75% or better, a written exam in medical terminology given at the time of the interview. A self-study course in basic medical terminology is available for download in Adobe Acrobat format from the program Web page.

Program and Clinical Site Requirements

• Upon acceptance into the program, official transcripts showing conferment of undergraduate and graduate degree(s), if applicable, must be sent to the program. These must arrive prior to the program start date.
• Students are required to have their own laptop computer upon entry into the program. PDA's are required prior to entry into the clinical phase. The minimal requirements will be listed after acceptance into the program.
• All students will be expected to purchase or have the required medical equipment needed to meet program requirements. This will include acquiring an approved lab coat with a school issued patch. The equipment list will be provided after acceptance into the program.
• Students with formal health care experience must submit copies of any license, registration, or certification related to that field at the time of matriculation.
• Students are required to maintain health insurance.
• Each student must carry Physician Assistant liability insurance coverage, which will be included in tuition costs.
• Portions of the program will require travel to various locations; all students are required to have access to a motor vehicle, a valid driver’s license, and auto liability insurance. Further information will be reviewed in detail at orientation. Accepted students are required to attend all orientation sessions scheduled by the program.
• Clinical experiences entail travel to clinical sites. PA students are responsible for all costs associated with travel and off campus clinical experiences. Transportation and food are the most common out-of pocket expenses. Some sites will require additional living arrangements to be made, which will be the student’s responsibility.
• It is the program's responsibility to develop clinical sites for all required rotations.
• A student may be required to authorize and submit to a criminal background check with fingerprinting, including sex offenses and crimes against minors. Some students may also be expected to submit to random drug testing required by clinical practice sites and/or the program. These additional costs would be the students’ responsibility. Non-compliance with the criminal background checks and/or drug testing policies may be cause for dismissal from the program. Criminal background checks and drug screens are common pre-employment procedures

Health Requirements

Applicants selected for admission to the program must provide evidence of good health, no communicable diseases and required immunizations and screenings prior to matriculation. Forms will be available to those accepted into the program. Immunizations and screening tests required are as follows:

• Hepatitis B series and titer (this can take up to 6 months to complete),
• Two MMR's,
• Date of completion of primary tetanus series, (DPT, DTaP or Td)
• Date of completion of polio series
• Current Td or a 1 time booster of Tdap (strongly preferred for clinicals) within past 10 years, (tetanus toxoid accepted if medically necessary)
• Positive varicella titer (if negative then series of 2 immunizations) OR a series of 2 immunizations
• A 2 step PPD skin test performed within four months prior to matriculation.

This information is provided so that you may begin receiving any immunizations that you are now lacking. Complete information will be given after acceptance in the program. A form documenting evidence of good health and a PPD will be required before entering the clinical phase also.

Recommended Background and Proficiencies

• Applications will be strengthened by evidence of the successful completion of additional coursework, such as additional chemistries, genetics, immunology, sociology, child and/or abnormal psychology, or other life science, and social science courses beyond the minimum required. We recommend that applicants take additional coursework for English and mathematics because of the need for strong analytical and communication skills. Completion of a general statistics course is strongly encouraged.
• Experience in direct medical patient care will add support to the application and is strongly recommended, as will demonstrated involvement in humanitarian service. Direct patient care experience may be either paid or volunteer and can include clinical experience as a health professional (nurse, health educator, paramedic, EMT, respiratory therapist, etc) or experience as a medical/nursing assistant, clinic aide, orderly, patient care attendant, medical missions volunteer, etc. Time spent "shadowing" a physician assistant or physician in clinical activities will also be considered. Applicants are encouraged to obtain patient care experience, sufficient to recognize the physical and psychological demands of dealing with patients and to appreciate the challenges of being a healthcare professional.
• It is strongly recommended that coursework in Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology be completed within 7 years prior to applying to the Program. Current employment that actively uses that knowledge base will be taken into consideration by the admissions committee.

CASPA Application and Deadlines:

Applications are available through CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) at www.caspaonline.org/. The application cycle begins April 17, 2008 with our e-submission deadline being November 1,2008.

• By November 1, CASPA must receive:
• • E-submitted application

• By December 1st, both the program & applicant must see that CASPA has received the following (check application status on www.caspaonline.org)
• • All transcripts
  • At least 2 of the 3 required reference letters with the 3rd to follow

This is an extremely busy time for CASPA and transcripts and reference letters often take longer to be posted as received by CASPA than anticipated. No application will be considered if transcripts and/or reference letters are posted as received by CASPA after December 1st  

• Complete the GRE prior to December 31, 2008. The official scores are to be sent directly to Harding. Our institution code is 6267 and departmental code is 0601 (allied health). You will need to use both codes to assure that your scores are sent to the PA program.

• Supplemental application will be sent to those applicants who have met the academic requirements. All instructions and forms will be sent to qualified applicants by email. There will be a $25.00 supplemental application fee that will be assessed at this stage.

Submission of a completed application packet does not guarantee an interview, selection or admission into the Physician Assistant Program. You do not need to file an undergraduate application to HardingUniversity to be considered for admission.

We have prepared this PDF with additional CASPA suggestions. 

2008/09 Interview Dates:

Our interview schedule has not been set yet for 2009. Only certain interview date(s) will be offered at one time. The interview day will be 1/2 day in length, consisting of a terminology test (see study guide on this website), faculty interviews, a small group activity and time to visit with current students. 

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Application Review (supplemental application) and Interview:

We will begin the interview process as applications are received from CASPA. Interviews will be offered to qualified applicants prior to the application deadline and student positions will be offered on a rolling admissions basis. Early application is strongly encouraged. Some student positions will remain available through the last interview date.

The Admissions Committee reviews all completed applications for admission. Applications will be reviewed, looking for traits of a competitive applicant who will be invited for an interview. These traits include but are not limited to:

• Meets or exceeds the minimum requirements
• Provides explanation for total GPA that fall below stated criteria
• Has sought out adequate hours of shadowing/direct patient care contact hours to demonstrate knowledge of and commitment to this career path.
• Has strong letters of reference
• Graduates of Harding or its sister schools and Arkansas residents will be given preference.
• Experience in rural healthcare or in missions will give added weight to the application.

Selected applicants will be asked to complete a supplemental application (There is a $25 supplemental application fee.) that is submitted directly to the program.

Competitive applicants will be invited to attend a personal interview that affords the faculty an opportunity to further review the applicant’s credentials. Applicants are expected to demonstrate maturity, personal initiative, an understanding of the Physician Assistant role and excellent communication skills. This meeting enables the applicants to become acquainted with the program’s facilities, faculty/staff and/or students.

Applications are encouraged from those who can demonstrate a commitment to practice primary care in rural and urban medically underserved areas, or in foreign or domestic mission fields.

Scoring of competitive applicants at the time of the interview will be based on an objective tool that awards points in many different areas. These areas include all of the above mentioned plus communication skills, maturity level, and ability to answer questions asked during the interview process.

Tuition and Fees for 07/08 year

Beginning with the Class of 2010, we will institute a levelized tuition plan. The cost of 110 credit hours will be distributed over 7 semesters. Each August the cost will be adjusted to reflect any price increase by the University. This price will then remain the same for 3 semesters (fall, spring, and summer).

The program will cover:

• Lab supplies
• Malpractice insurance
• BLS & ACLS costs
• Professional dues (ARAPA & AAPA)

The student will be responsible for:

• University Technology fee each semester
• Books, laptop & required software, and medical equipment
• Graduation fee ($125) during the seventh semester
• Post graduation expenses:
• • Licensing exam – PANCE ($425)
  • State Licensure –varies by state ($150-200)

The following is an EXAMPLE based on 07/08 prices^#

* Requirements will be listed after acceptance into the program.

# These numbers will be updated when the University sets the costs for the 08/09 year and represents approximate costs of the program. This does not include costs unrelated to tuition or university fees. Other student costs may include: room and board, car and insurance, health insurance, costs associated with clinical rotation such as travel, food, lodging (if required) and any other requirements of the clinical site.  All of these are approximate costs and are subject to change (07/08).

Policies and procedures for withdrawals and refunds of tuition and for processing student grievances are published in the graduate student handbook.

A Point of Reference
The "typical" Physician Assistant Student entering a U.S. program in 2004 was 27 years old, held a bachelor's degree, had a grade point average of 3.36, and had 37 months of health care experience prior to admission. (Source: Twentieth Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, 2003-2004)

Selection and Notification for Admission:

The number of applicants recommended for acceptance will be determined annually by the Physician Assistant Program admissions committee.

After interviews are completed, interviewees will be informed about their status in writing (email). Based upon a review of the applications and interview, the Admissions Committee may recommend one of the following:

• Acceptance: Accepted students will be notified by email and by postal mail. Individuals in this group who have not completed all prerequisites will be given provisional acceptance status, pending verification of successful completion of the required coursework and/or graduation.
• Hold: During the admissions process, the program will periodically offer a set number of positions ("rolling admissions") to qualified applicants. Those applicants who do not receive an offer of acceptance prior to the final selection of candidates will be placed on hold status. These applicants will continue to be eligible for positions in the program until the final selections are made.
• Admission Alternates: Some applicants will be ranked as alternates and will be notified of their admission status on or before the program start date August 2008. Applicants not admitted from the alternate list must reapply if they wish to be considered in subsequent years.
• Non-Acceptance: Applicants wishing to be considered in a subsequent year must reapply, and must satisfy all admission requirements for that year.

All program decisions are final.

Technical Standards

The technical standards for admission to the Harding University Physician Assistant Program establish the expectations for proficiency in essential abilities necessary for students admitted to this program. This curriculum requires demonstrated aptitude in diverse skills and abilities related to observation, intellect, physical manipulation, communication and interpersonal skills. Therefore, the following abilities and characteristics must be possessed, with or without reasonable accommodation, by all students admitted in the program.

General:

• Candidates must possess the qualities of compassion, integrity, interest and motivation that are all personal qualities essential to the role.
• Candidates must have an attitude of respect for self and others, adherence to the concepts of privilege and confidentiality in communicating with patients, and a commitment to the patient’s welfare.
• Candidates must have the mental capacity to assimilate and learn large volumes of complex, technically detailed information, to perform clinical problem solving, and to synthesize and apply concepts and information from different disciplines to formulate diagnostic and therapeutic judgments.

Observation:

• Candidates must be able to observe and participate in all demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including computer assisted instruction.
• Candidates must have sufficient visual and auditory acuity, as well as tactile and olfactory sensation necessary to directly perform a physical examination. Candidates must be physically able to perform inspection, palpation, auscultation and percussion.
• Candidates must possess sufficient postural control, neuromuscular control, depth perception, and eye-to-hand coordination to utilize standard medical instruments. They must possess sufficient control of the upper extremities to meet the physical requirements for training and performing complete physical examinations.
• Candidates are expected to have the high degree of coordination necessary to respond to emergency situations quickly and appropriately.

Communication:

• Candidates must be able to relate reasonably to patients and establish a sensitive, professional and effective relationship. They should be able to communicate the results of the examination to the patient with accuracy, clarity and efficiency.
• Candidates must have the ability to remain calm and reasoned in a high stress environment and be able to respond quickly and appropriately in emergencies.
• Candidates must be able to relate to and develop good professional rapport with other members of the health care team. Recognizing limitations, demonstrating concern for patients and exercising good judgment are also required attributes.

Interpersonal Skills:

• A candidate must possess the emotional and mental health required for full utilization of his or her intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients.
• Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, and have the ability to maintain composure and emotional stability during periods of high stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients.

Candidates are urged to ask questions about the program’s technical standards for clarification and to determine whether they can meet the requirements with or without reasonable accommodations. Questions may be directed to the program director. Revealing a disability is voluntary; however, such disclosure is necessary before any accommodations may be made in the learning environment or in the program’s procedures. Information about disabilities is handled in a confidential manner. Reasonable accommodations will be made to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. These require program and institutional approval. Requests for accommodations must be submitted in writing to the program director, allowing sufficient time prior to matriculation for action on these requests. Candidates who feel that they may not meet the technical standards are encouraged to contact the program director to discuss and identify what accommodations, if any, can be made by Harding University so that the candidate might be able to meet the standards.

Non-Discrimination Statement

Harding is required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, as amended, not to discriminate of the basis of gender in its admission policies, treatment of students, employment practices or educational programs except as required by religious tenets of the churches of Christ. Harding has a nondiscrimination policy available upon request in the offices of Student Services and Human Resources. Inquiries concerning the application of federal and state laws or regulations may be referred to the Office of Human Resources, Box 12257, 915 E. Market Ave., Searcy, AR 72149-2257: telephone (501) 279-4380. The person to ensure compliance with the nondiscrimination policy and discrimination laws and regulations is the chief financial officer of the University. 

(Revised 12/21/07, 2/11/08)